Motoring’s golden age – part two: Glorious Goodwood
by Simon Handby in Your car on 14.07.08
So, even though we know that cars are cheaper and safer than ever, modern cars are still rubbish, aren’t they? Well, maybe not, but it never hurts to indulge in a bit of misty-eyed motor nostalgia.
Step in the Goodwood Festival of Speed, a ludicrous idea where various classic, historic or just plain exotic cars are batted up a 1.16-mile hill climb course against the clock. At least, that’s the central event. There’s also a forest rally stage, which is where, with my father, I spent much of Friday; soaking up the atmosphere and spitting out the shingle kicked up by passing classics.
Depending on your sensibilities, the Festival of Speed (and Goodwood’s other nostalgia event the Revival) is either a glorious celebration of the best of motor racing, or a monumental waste of time and petrol. Personally, although I’m convinced that personal car transport is a luxury we’d better not get used to, I love wandering around Goodwood’s paddocks, listening to the ticking of a classic engine as it cools, or fighting to be heard over the ragged screams of an F1 car starting up.
Both Goodwood events are unusual in that you can literally walk amongst the classic cars, and sometimes their equally classic drivers. But one famous face sadly missing this year was three-time World Rally Champion Colin McRae, who died in a helicopter accident last September. He was remembered and celebrated with a succession of cars from his career, including this 1996 Subaru Impreza.
Finally, you might remember news of a crazy Rinspeed concept car that owed no small debt to James Bond’s amphibious Lotus Esprit from The Spy Who Loved Me. That Esprit (or at least, a regular non-submariner version) was part of a gaggle of Bond classics on display. Ah; happy days.
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